1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing electron-emitting devices, electron sources, light-emitting apparatuses and image forming apparatuses. Image forming apparatuses may be display apparatuses for television broadcasting, display apparatuses for television conference systems and computers and the like, optical printers using photosensitive drums and the like.
2. Related Background Art
Two types of electron emitting-devices are known, thermionic cathode devices and cold cathode devices. Known cold cathode devices include field emission devices, metal/insulator/metal emission devices, and surface conduction electron-emitting devices. Image forming apparatuses using electron-emitting devices are required nowadays to have a high resolution. As the number of display pixels increases, a consumption power increases because of capacitances of electron-emitting devices being driven. It is therefore desired to reduce device capacitance, lower drive voltage and improve the efficiency of electron-emitting devices. It is also required that the electron emission characteristics of electron-emitting devices are uniform and devices can be easily manufactured. Recently, many proposals have been made to use carbon nanotubes as electron-emitting devices, carbon nanotubes being expected to meet such requirements.
Manufacturing and patterning methods for electron-emitting devices using carbon nanotubes have been proposed in various ways (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 11-162334, No. 2000-057934, No. 2000-086216, No. 2000-090809, U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,564, etc.). For example, by using resist, a dot pattern is formed in a substrate to dispose catalyst metal at desired positions and grow carbon nanotubes by using the catalyst metal as nuclei (JP-A-2000-086216). Assistants are attached to a substrate and carbon nanotubes are formed at desired positions of the substrate by plasma CVD in an electric field (JP-A-2000-057934). Carbon nanotubes are manufactured by arc discharge or by laser radiation to graphite and refined. Thereafter, the carbon nanotubes are dispersed in solution or resist liquid and this dispersion liquid is coated on a substrate (JP-A-2000-90809).